Crappy Nissan battery.

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Rogue9
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Crappy Nissan battery.

Postby Rogue9 » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:54 pm

have to say im disappointed in nissans battery warranty. 1 year, 100% coverage and after that pro rated. i get a new one from dealer at 50% and it comes with a 2 year 100% coverage then prorated.
I'm pretty sure my Grand Am was covered with the car's "bumper to bumper" it also lasted me 4-5 years.

so its been 14 months and my battery has a faulty cell, dealer tested it and determined it needed replacing. Ended up going to Costco for 80$ i get 3 years warranty no questions.

anyone else have their stocker go so quickly??
i was gonna get an optima but didnt want to spend the money.


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volvite
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Postby volvite » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:42 pm

I've never bought a brand new vehicle. All the vehicles I've owened have been used and an aftermarket battery installed. However after working for a parts department, it appeared to me that OEM batteries lasted from 1-3 years. Not very long. However you don't know exactly how long they sat on the shelf either. All batteries should come with the date they were made, and that should give you some kind of idea when your old OEM battery was manufactured. Hopefully your Costco battery will last longer and treat you better. :D

Rogue9
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Postby Rogue9 » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:05 pm

yeah I've worked at a dealership before so i know a good number of new cars, esp older inventory has their battery drained atleast once and we all know after the first big drain the battery is pretty much crap.

I'm just disappointed in the warranty itself.

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volvite
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Postby volvite » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:29 pm

Rogue9 wrote:yeah I've worked at a dealership before so i know a good number of new cars, esp older inventory has their battery drained atleast once and we all know after the first big drain the battery is pretty much crap.

I'm just disappointed in the warranty itself.
I understand your disappointment. Nobody wants to get stranded by a bad battery and then later come to find out the warranty wont cover it.

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NVSteve
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Postby NVSteve » Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:57 pm

Mine lasted about 3 years also. It's one of those items that I don't mind replacing with something that actually works because I know it is a POS in the first place. Kind of like the crappy tires that come standard on all vehicles, which most of us can't wait to replace.

CPLTECH
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Postby CPLTECH » Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:12 pm

I always try to get the maximum affordable amp ratings available in that size. If you have a choice, pick out the freshest battery on the rack. The warranty is better, as well.

BTW, leaving the lights on by mistake and then finding out the battery is dead 8 hrs latter is a sentence to an early death. But I think Nissan make the lights go off after a few minutes. Be grateful for small favors.

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gond34
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Postby gond34 » Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:47 am

Mine bit the dust about 6 months ago... Strange how quickly they go without any warning sometimes, too... I pulled up to a gas pump, filled up, got in, hit the key and... NOTHING. Tossed in an Optima battery. A bit more money, but I've had them in other cars and they've never once let me down, even on the coldest days.

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RacerZX
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Postby RacerZX » Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:19 am

I went to an Optima Yellow Top after my OEM battery crashed. Yes there are rumors out there that Optima aren't what they used to be because they are no longer made in the USA, but so far it's been great, YMMV.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:33 am

I went with the Optima Red Top, been great so far. I've totally killed it about 4 or 5 times by leaving stuff on in the truck for several days. Charged it back up and its as good as new.

+1 to Optima!

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:38 pm

If money was no object, I'd go with the Optima. But, I've been using Walmart's Everstart MAXX batteries for the past year. They are always highly rated (if not top-rated) in every group series by Consumer Reports, have a great warranty and all for $80. Tough to beat!

Rogue9
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Postby Rogue9 » Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:23 pm

Money was exactly it. i would have gone with a red or yellow top if i could afford it.
but i no longer run a 1500 watt stereo system so i figured im ok with a stock size. hope it all goes well....

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:00 am

Reviving an old post here. I hereby rescind my endorsement of the Optima Red Top! At 2.5yrs, it has crapped out on me twice in the past 3 weeks. I have done my diagnostics, and there are no abnormal parasitic loads, so its definitely the battery.

Also, due to some massive renovations we are doing, I misplaced my bill for this thing, and apparently it is required in order to get warranty. My bad I guess, but my experience in the past is that they mark off the label on the battery with the purchase date, and go off of that for warranty purposes. Not the case with Optima, in fact it specifically says (in small print!) that you need to keep your receipt. Dang.

As blowing another $180 on a battery is not a priority right now, I decided to go for a Kirkland brand battery from Costco. I ended up using a Group 35 (coincidentally the same size as the Optima) as they didn't have a 24 in stock.

$78.99 + $10 for the core.

I have attached a pic of the label, that shows the CC and CCA. Should meet the requirements. Also, note the warranty listed on the label. 3yr free replacement, 100 month prorated. Doubt I will have this truck in 100 months! so we are good to go!

Image

t

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RacerZX
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Postby RacerZX » Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:32 am

Oh that sucks! I wonder where my receipt is... :roll:

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volvite
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Postby volvite » Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:37 am

Do you remember what store you purchased the Optima from? I used to work at Autozone and if you purchased an Optima battery from them, they covered the 3 year warranty and you no need to keep your reciept. They would track the warranty with your phone number. Once out of the warranty time frame they would drop the coverage.

On another note, I ended up replacing my battery last week and was looking at another red top as I had one in my 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but decided to go with the Autozone Duralast Platinum battery. Same warranty as the Red top, similar design, but less expensive. So far it's been a great battery. :D

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Tue Apr 03, 2012 12:49 pm

I did call and asked if I needed my receipt. They said yes, so I guess I'm screwed.

Maybe I will find it in the next while, and then I can go get a new one.

t


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